U.S. troops move to control key route used by Taliban

June 19, 2006

BAGHRAN VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. soldiers descended on a mountain ridge Sunday, quickly setting up fortified posts and mortar positions overlooking a key Taliban transport route as the coalition pressed a major offensive that has killed dozens of suspected militants. It was the first time in several years that soldiers from the U.S.-led military force have ventured into Baghran Valley in the northern part of Helmand province. Troops from the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division poured out of CH-47 Chinook helicopters in the early morning and scouted the mountain for militants. The position will allow U.S. forces to block the movement of Taliban fighters and supplies, said one of the officers, Lt. Col. Chris Toner. More than 10,000 coalition soldiers are spread out over four southern provinces -- Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Zabul -- in Operation Mountain Thrust, a blitz aimed at quelling a surge of Taliban attacks. It is the largest offensive since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime. The open-ended offensive aims to hunt down Taliban fighters blamed for an onslaught of ambushes and bombings in recent months, the worst spate of militant violence since 2001. More than 500 people -- most of them militants -- have been killed in the past month as insurgents launched increasingly bold attacks on coalition forces. More than 90 suspected militants have been killed the past few days, the coalition says. At least nine coalition soldiers have been killed since mid-May. Southern Helmand was also the scene of fighting Saturday, when British troops killed six Taliban fighters near Kajaki dam, a British spokesman, Capt. Drew Gibson, reported Sunday.